Opening Andora's Box

"Okay. Do you want me to finish sucking you off now or do you want to plunge your cock into my pussy?"

The question ripped away what little comfort Pete had just found but he hid it. "No, thanks. I think I will go take a shower. And I'll take it alone, why don't you go get dressed?"

He had jacked off in the shower, his mind still filled with the sight of Andora's naked body.

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Later he had sat her down and tried to explain to her that he wasn't interested in a sexual way in her. She didn't buy it. It was a little frustrating how some of his words just slid off her. It wouldn't have been the case if it was a sign her free will surfacing but her own words gave lie to that hope.

She remained convinced that her master needed sexual release from time to time and that as his property it was only logical that she helped. "Really, you are a very kind Master. But I don't need time to get to know you first. I already know everything about you that I need to know so you don't have to worry about my feelings." Those had been her words.

She kept returning to the subject and when Andora had once more brought the subject of his sexual needs up on the third day, Pete had told her in exasperation that he was taking care of that by himself and that he would let her know if he needed help. Dumbfounded, Pete watched as Andora blithely accepted the answer and stopped talking about it.

And it was the truth. Pete had found it much easier to deal with Andora without the sexual tension. He still felt a little guilty about it though, because he kept imagining her while doing it.

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On the seventh day, Pete finally received a reply from the local office concerning his report. He waited with opening it until Andora had arrived since he thought this would concern her as much as it did him.

Pete vaguely recalled that the short man that appeared on screen was called Grenspan. He was wearing a suit with a tie, something that had made a comeback in the last century. Pete had never actually met the man but he had received a general briefing from him once or twice.

"I've passed your report along to our PR-division as well as the Confederate Marshals. They are very pleased with your actions and so is the company. This means you will be getting a bonus, although I have no idea how high it's going to be.

"But I also have some more serious news. Right now we can't spare a ship to pick her up. I don't know when we can but it looks like we will have to use the ship that was going to bring you back to civilization. Please deliver my apologies to Miss Chrysler.

"I do have some good news though. The resupply vessel that was due to dock with you is carrying a psychologist. Originally she was just supposed to do a quick evaluation of your own mental health while the freighter unloaded and tanked up. But Miss Chrysler needs professional help so I have contacted her and she has agreed to stay with you to help in Miss Chrysler's recovery." Well, that explained why it took so long for the reply to arrive.

"Well, that just about covers everything. We still haven't gotten word from Sigma-Delta 35 so we don't know if her parents are alive. I personally don't have much hope but you never know. Oh before I forget, the name of the psychologist is Sara Mercada. Once again, good job and keep it up." And with that the message ended. I didn't know how to feel about yet another guest. 'When I took the job I expected years of solitude, now I am going to live with two women. One of which was more then willing to jump my bones if I asked her. Or ordered her,' he amended.

Enter the psychologist

Sara silently observed the outpost as it grew larger in the view port. The pilot next to her didn't even try to talk to her. The freighter crew had quickly learned that Sara Mercada wasn't interested in socializing with people that she viewed as beneath her. All in all, they wouldn't be sorry to see her go.

Sara herself was aware of this but she really didn't care and didn't give it any thought. Instead, her thoughts were centered on her new patient and meal ticket waiting in that old outpost.

The human mind had been so exhaustively studied in the past centuries that coming up with any new findings was a rarity. Originally Sara had gone on this trip in the hope that she might uncover something new in the minds of the lonely people manning outposts such as the one they were approaching. The fact that she had managed to sell this to the company as an evaluation of their psychological screening methods was a bonus.

But now that had changed, because she was about to get her hands on one of those rare specimens who had suffered from neural restructuring without having the benefit of a back-up. She could already see the book-deals, maybe even a holonovel if she managed to turn the slave into a functioning member of society.

She had another motive and that was protecting the poor girl from the man that had found her stasis tube. No doubt the guy had been salivating once he figured out just what had come into his possession. With the absence of any social control it was quite probable he had already made use of her skills. She had done a quick review of his mental evaluation and she didn't think he would even think of doing the right thing. A young man with few friends and little sexual experience, once she had discovered that she didn't need to see the rest or the final summery coughed up by some two-bit psycho-analysis program.

Of course, getting the victim to admit to what he had done would take some time. She needed to earn her trust first, but Sara was certain that would be all it took. 'No doubt the man has spent so much time rutting with the poor soul that he didn't have the time to properly indoctrinate her to cover his tracks,' she thought disgusted. Ah yes, she could practically see the headlines already. 'Intrepid psychologist saves sex-slave. Hero unmasked as pervert.'

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As Sara walked down the ramp she took in the two people she would be living with for more then a year. Both didn't exactly look like she had pictured them and she had the advantage of having seen a picture of both of them. Pete's simple choice of clothing had been expected but she hadn't expected him to keep a presentable appearance. 'Probably did that to pull the wool over my eyes, fat chance to that.'

Andora held similar surprises. The obvious curiosity visible in her eyes had been unexpected, eyes that were even more fetching then her picture alluded to. Her clothing was practical and covered most of her skin. 'Had her running naked down the hallways just yesterday,' was Sara's cynical thought on that.

"Doctor Mercada, welcome to outpost QC-234 but we just call her Angela." His cheery welcome annoyed Sara, all the more because it was obvious he had been told to expect her. She had counted on her arrival coming as a surprise as it had been for the ones she had interviewed before taking on this task. Obviously Grenspan had felt the need to warn Pete Draeck.

But as luck would have it, there was someone here that she could vent on. "You actually named the AI," was her reply. She made certain to go for an incredulous tone rather than a patronizing one.

Pete got uncomfortable, exactly as Sara had intended. "I, it seemed like the right thing to do. QC-234 doesn't roll of the tongue and doesn't sound nice..."

"It's an AI," Sara interrupted. "It doesn't care if you're nice. But you do need someone to talk to I suppose and the refrigerator is a bit unresponsive."

Pete looked away. "I, I'll take you to your quarters. I know how cramped those bunks can be."

"I don't think so, you have work to do." She turned and addressed Andora in a friendly voice. "Why don't we let him get on with doing his job, I am certain you can show me around." Andora didn't respond immediately but in the end they left together, Sara doing most of the talking with Andora observing her keenly.

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The pilot watched the sour psychologist leaving. There really had been no need to chew out the boy but she had done it anyway. And she wasn't even that much older than the kid was in the first place. Sure, the pantsuit and the conservative hair bun made her look older but not that much older. He already felt sorry for the guy, being cooped up with the esteemed Doctor Mercada. On the other hand, that other girl might just balance things out.

"Don't let her get to you kid, she's been haranguing us too the entire trip. A good lay is what she needs if you ask me. Oh well, lets get to work. We still got two trips after this."

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As Doctor Mercada's thought back on her first two days on the station, she couldn't say she was exactly pleased with what she had found. For one, she didn't get as much time alone with Andora as she wanted because the girl had her share of the workload. This meant that their sessions together could only happen after dinner. She had asked the young woman to stop doing that man's work but she had refused. And Sara was loathed to ask Draeck for anything.

And Draeck himself also didn't act like she wanted. The first instance was when they had dinner together. She had expected him to be sullen, to leer at her or even angry that she had interrupted his sex marathon. Instead he had asked when they could talk about group psychology in early human tribes. Apparently it was part of his thesis and he said he welcomed the opinion of an expert.

And the unwelcome surprises kept coming that evening. After dinner Andora and Draeck had delved into a discussion about some historical subject Sara had little interest in. But their interaction during that discussion had been of interest. Instead of deferring to Draeck when they had a disagreement, Andora had held her ground and advanced her own argument for believing what she did.

Only two slip-ups of Draeck buoyed Sara's mood. One, Draeck was still letting Andora call him Master. The little prick didn't even seem to notice she did it. And two, it was obvious he also didn't let her wear underwear. She wouldn't confront Andora with that just yet. But Sara had been so irked by the inconsistency she had seen after that first dinner that she had asked Andora about it in their first session.

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"I noticed something interesting last night when you were talking with Mister Draeck about the French Revolution." Yes, that was how she had broached the subject.

"What would that be Sara?" She had told Andora to call her by her first name while she still had to unpack.

Which was another thing that had annoyed Sara. She was certain he wouldn't have done that if she wasn't present. "Yes, but isn't Master always right?"

Andora gave her an amused smile. "No, Master is a human being which means he gets things wrong sometimes. A good slave remembers that and helps him when he needs it. Naturally my opinions are what he tells me they are, but he asked for my opinion so I gave it to him."

Sara just stared at her. She had read about other cases and most of them were completely docile and sex-crazed. Even the ones who weren't, were this... rational. There was definitely something odd going on, what had Draeck done to her?

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Well, that was how Sara recalled the events anyway. And thanks to a small memory implant at the base of her skull, she had perfect recall. It really was a handy device and completely safe, it could only be controlled by her mind. The drawback was that it couldn't really record events as they happened, you had to consciously focus the memories and sent them to it. But it was so much more discrete than those antiquated handrecorders.

The door to her quarters opened and Andora stepped in. She was wearing her customary T-shirt sans undergarments, despite the fact that Sara had given her several. Andora was wearing the jeans Sara had given her though. It was all part of her strategy of course.

Mercada greeted her with a smile. "Right on time as always, Andora."

"I do seem to have good timing," was Andora's response as she took a seat opposite to Doctor Mercada. "So, what do you want to talk about today?"

Sara affected a thoughtful look. "How about your family?"

"But I don't remember my family?"

"Yes, but you know you had one. Do you think of them at all?"

Three weeks later

Things weren't progressing as Doctor Mercada had anticipated. While Andora seemed to be candid and open with her, she hadn't even hinted at anything untoward happening between her and Draeck. Even more frustrating was that Draeck was playing the considered, helpful guy routine to a tee. She had even caught herself enjoying a particular debate on group-dynamics with the man. When it came to academics, Draeck seemed to shed his insecurities about her.

The frustration this all caused had erupted during yesterday's session. Instead of being surreptitious she had simply confronted Andora with Draeck's dresscode. She had denied that there was any such thing and the session had been cut short with neither side willing to give ground. Sara however wasn't prepared to admit defeat just yet so she had hit upon the idea of using hypnosis. Andora would admit to the abuse one way or the other, even if Sara had to recreate the memories to achieve that breakthrough.

The technical term was 'inducing an alternate state of consciousness' but that was a bit too cumbersome to use outside of a textbook. It wasn't exactly a standard method and she had never done it before. But she still had her notes about that one class in which the professor had discussed the subject and had gone over them last night. Sara was confident she could wing it, as long as she camouflaged it as something else. And that was what she was going to do in their session today.

"I feel I should apologize to you about yesterday. Being confrontational like that isn't helping you and that is why I am here." Yes, that was exactly the right way to repair any damage that her little explosion might have caused.

But Andora frowned. "I understand that you feel the need to help me, but I still think you are wrong. You insulted Master, not me. Shouldn't you apologize to him instead?"

There was no way she was going to do that, but she couldn't tell Andora that. "I am afraid that is impossible. These talks are confidential and Mister Draeck understands that."

Andora shrugged. Sara continued with some carefully hidden anxiety. "Anyway, I thought we might try something different today to insure something like yesterday doesn't happen. I would like us to do a relaxation exercise together."

Sara smiled as Andora agreed. "Alright then, I would like you to focus on my eyes," Doctor Mercada intoned. "Just my eyes, let the rest of the room fade away." Sara was pleased to see Andora's eyes do just that. She also noted that it caused some kind of glimmer in Andora's eyes. Her eyes actually seemed to change colors in some subtle way, but it was hard to actually see. But Sara didn't let it distract her from completing the induction. "Let the rest of your body relax. And look into my eyes."

"Look into your eyes," Andora repeated.

Sara was a little unsure how to react to that but decided to improvise. "Yes, look into my eyes."

"Look into my eyes," murmured Andora.

"Yes, look into your eyes," Sara agreed. 'Such pretty eyes.'

"Just fall into my eyes," sighed Andora.

"Fall into your eyes," Sara repeated.

"See only my eyes," Andora said dreamy. "Focus on them, let them flow into your mind until they replace all your other thoughts. Just let go and fall into my eyes." Sara did just that. A thought popped up, something about how she was supposed to hypnotizing Andora and not the other way around. But that thought was already falling apart and Sara paid it no heed. Andora's eyes seemed to be bottomless; she just kept falling further and further.

Doctor Mercada couldn't tell how long this went on but her mind came to a stop with Andora's next words. "Good, now keep your focus on my eyes and close yours. Keep seeing my eyes in your mind. See only my eyes." Sara wasn't amazed to find this to be true. Her mind didn't have the room to spare to feel that or anything else Andora didn't tell her to feel. With closed eyes she kept looking into those amazing eyes, her mouth answering questions she didn't hear.

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"I am Master's property. Nothing feels better than pleasing Master. I feel good because I am a slave, I feel better when I am a good slave." Andora intoned the mantra with practiced ease. She was kneeling in her quarters doing what she did every evening before she went to bed. Speaking those words while pleasuring herself until she reached a rewarding climax. While she did that she also reviewed her actions of the day to learn how to be a better slave. But tonight she was also trying to puzzle something out.

When Sara had begun using that relaxation technique it had triggered that hidden part of her mind again. The first time it had happened was the first night at the outpost, right before she was going to bed. It had provided her with the mantra and the knowledge of what she had to do before going to bed. The second time had been the morning after, when it had told her how Master should be woken up. Perhaps it had remained silent since then because that hadn't been a success, Andora didn't know and didn't really care either.

And today it had happened again, it had flooded her mind with a skill and with purpose. Andora herself didn't understand quite how but she had wrested control of the exercise from the doctor and used it against her. And when Sara's mind had become relaxed and open that hidden part had rewarded her. But it hadn't exactly told her what to do so Andora had decided to ask Sara some questions she would otherwise not answer.

The answers hadn't been nice and Andora blamed them for her decision to cover up the fact that the relaxation exercise hadn't gone as Sara had planned. A task made a little harder by Sara's memory recorder but a focussed mind could conjure up some amazingly vivid fantasies. It was obvious that Sara didn't like Master and this filled Andora with sadness. All the more because while in that open state the doctor had revealed to her just how deep that dislike was. She didn't seem to be able to understand what joy it was to be Master's, that Andora didn't want to be apart from him.

No, there was nothing wrong with Andora but Sara did have problems. If only she could help the doctor somehow. And then it hit her, she could help Sara. Make her understand what Andora had learned. That hidden part of her mind came to the fore again, rewarding her for her initiative and making Andora cry out in pleasure.

Pleased she hauled her naked body from the floor and snuggled into her bed. And right before sleep came over her she murmured a small part of her mantra. "Property."

Physician heal thyself

"Look into your eyes, your pretty eyes. Just fall into your eyes, deeper and deeper till thoughts are left behind." Andora watched fascinated as Sara seemed to be talking to herself. Like yesterday Doctor Mercada had begun the relaxation exercise with asking Andora to look into her eyes. But this time the doctor had begun relaxing her mind on her own. In fact, Andora hadn't said a word yet.